Check-controlled apparatus.



M. J. WALTHER. CHBGK CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 17, 1909.

965,547, Patented July 26, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

gflji Elia /J 2 /i Z lmi/bvmoow I a *M 2%? THE NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

v I Q M. J. WALTHER.

CHECK OONTROLLED, APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17, 1909.

Patented July 26, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 MATHIAS J'. WALTHER, CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CHECK-CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 26, 1910.

Application filed December 17, 1909. Serial No. 533,636.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATHIAS J. WALTI-IER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Check-Controlled Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in check-controlled apparatus and to one especially designed for use in connection with my improved machine for vending chewing gum and other merchandise, and forming subject matter of application bearing Serial Number 517,882, filed September 15, 1909.

The object of the present invention is to provide a coin or check-controlled apparatus which will be simple and practical in construction and at the same time inexpensive, strong and durable, and which will be reliable in operation and so constructed that the machine can not be operated by coins other than the denomination which the mechanism is designed to receive.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of a vending machine provided with my improved checkcontrolled apparatus; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the plane indicated by the line 22 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the upper portion of the coin chute showing the movable sections swung open; Fig. 4 is an end view of the coin chute with its parts or sections in closed position; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the movable ejector finger; Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view through the same; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the ejector slide.

Referring more particularly to the drawings 1 denotes a suitable casing having a cover 2 at its top and adapted to contain a revolubly mounted goods or merchandise holder 3. The latter consists of an annular series of upright sections 4 forming compartments for the packages of chewing gum or other merchandise and having open front portions to permit the packages to be viewed through a glass covered side opening 5 in the casing. The sections 4 are suitably supported from an upright shaft 7 mounted in a suitable bearing and adapted to be retained in adjusted position by a spring pawl 15 which co-acts with a star-shaped ratchet wheel 14. The shaft 7 is rotated by turning a handle on the outer end of a horizontal shaft 12, which latter is connected by beveled gears 11 to the shaft 7 The lower ends of the sections 4 are open and the lowermost packages G are engaged with supporting ledges 6.

The ejector mechanism comprises an ejector slide 16 arranged for horizontal sliding movement in a forward and rearward direction by having its grooved side edges engaged with guides 17 provided on the upper portion of the hearing or supporting bracket 9. The rear slot-ted end of the slide 16 receives the pivot 7 and has connected to it a coil spring 18 which serves to retract said slide. The latter is projected by means of a segmental gear 19 which meshes with a longitudinal series of rack teeth 20 formed on the bottom of the forward portion of the slide 16. The segmental gear- 19 is formed on one end of alever 21 pivoted intermediate its ends at 22 and having its lower end arranged in the path of a plunger 23. The latter has its side edges grooved to receive V-shaped guide ribs 241 on the bracket 9. The central portion of said plunger is hollow. to receive the shouldered inner end 25 of a push rod or pin 26, the outer end of which latter is disposed outside of the box or casing 1. Said push pin has its outer portion slidable in a dished plate 26, and its inner portion is square and slidably mounted in a transverse bearing plate 26 arranged between spaced brace arms 26 projecting forwardly from the bracket 9. A coil spring 27 surrounds the squared inner portion of the push rod and is confined between the plate 26 and the shoulder on said rod. The hollow body portion of the plunger 23 is formed with a vertical opening 28 to receive the bent or angular end of a dog 29 pivoted intermediate its ends at 30 in a laterally projecting bracket arm 31 on the plunger 23. The angular end of the dog 29 is weighted and overbalanced as shown at 28, and its other end is adapted to be disposed beneath the lower open end of the coin chute 33. The arrangement and construction of the parts just described is such that a coin passing down the chute will drop upon and depress the straight end of the dog and thereby throw its angular end upwardly into the opening 28 of the plunger 23 so that when the push rod 26 is moved inwardly its shouldered end 25 will engage the angular end of the dog, which latter serves to lock the plunger and the push rod together. It will be noted that when the dog is in its normal position its bent end is beneath the plunger so that the latter will not be actuated by the push pin should said pin be forced inwardly without dropping a coin into the chute. WVhen a coin actuates the dog to cause it to lock the plunger to the push rod, and said push rod is then forced inwardly, the plunger will move inwardly and will actuate the lever 21, and at the same time the dog will move with the plunger until its straight end passes from beneath the coin chute to allow the coin to drop into a suitable coin receptacle or upon the bottom of the casing. The coins may be removed from the latter through a suitable door in the front wall of the casing.

35 denotes a chute arranged beneath the ejector mechanism to receive the goods or merchandise and adapted to discharge them at an opening 36 in the front wall of the casmg.

The ejector slide 16 carries a movable ejector finger 38 which passes through the open bottom of the foremost section 4 of the goods holder and engages and ejects the lowermost package in said section. This finger 38 is in the form of an upright plate fixed to a pivot 39 in an angular bracket 40 secured to the top and front end of the ejector slide. The pivot 39 has at one end a weighted arm 41 for maintaining said finger in upright position against a stop 42 provided on the bracket 40. Owing to this construction it will be seen that when the ejector slide is moved forwardly the finger 38 will engage the lowermost package of gum or other goods or merchandise in the foremost section 4 of the holder and eject the same, and that when the ejector slide is retracted by the spring 18 the finger 38 will swing forwardly and pass under the goods or merchandise in said section, the weight 41 restoring the finger to its normal position.

The coin chute 33 has its lower portion inclined downwardly and forwardly as shown in Fig. 1, while its upper portion is inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the front wall of the casing. This upper portion of the chute is composed of two side sections 43, 44, the former of which is stationary, and the latter of which is hinged along its upper edge so that its lower edge swings toward and from the corresponding edge of the sta tionary section. These chute sections 43, 44, are each composed of parallel upper and lower bars united to each other by trans- 1 verse connecting rods, and in their opposing edges are formed longitudinal grooves 46 to receive a com, whlch latter 1s lndlcated 1n 7 dotted lines at C in Fig. 3. The hinge connection between the sections 43, 44, is effected by providing strap hinges 45 in the upper grooved bars of the two sections, as clearly shown inFig. 3. The inward swinging movement of the section 44 of the chute is limited by stop lugs 47 formed onthe inner face of the lower bar of the statlonary chute section 43 and adapted to be engaged by the corresponding face of the lower bar.

of the swinging section 43, whereby the grooves 46 in the opposing chute sections will be spaced apart to receive coins of the proper denomination. In order to yieldingly maintain the swinging section in proper position, a coil spring 48 is arranged between the outer face of the lowerrbar of the swinging section 44 and one arm of a U-shaped bracket 49, the other arm of whlch is fixed to the outer face of the lower bar of the stationary chute section 43, see Fig. 4. The open upper end of the upper portionof the coin chute is disposed opposite a comreceiving slot in the front wall of the casing, and on said end of the movable section 44 is fixed an angular cam plate 51 which is adapted to be engaged by a coin when the latter is inserted in the coin slot. The engagement of the coin with said cam plate causes the movable section 44 of the chute to swing away from the stationary section and against the tension .of the spring 48. 52 denotes a permanent magnet of rectangular shape riveted in a recess in the inner face of theupper bar of the stationary chute section 43 and adapted to stop or arrest an lron disk inserted the coin chute. In operation, the shaft 12 is rotated to bring the desired goods compartment or sec tion 4 to the front in operative; positlon with respect to the ejecting mechanism, such position being observed through the side opening 5. A-coin is then inserted 1n the slot 50 and when it reaches the lower endof the chute 33 it will projectthe dog 29.1nto engagement with the plunger so that the push rod 25 will actuate the same. When the plunger is moved, it engages and actuates the lever 22 and causes its segmental gear 19 to slide the ejector 16 in a forward direction so that the ejector finger 38 Wlll discharge the lowermostpackage of gum or other merchandise into the chute 35, from h which latter it may be removed through the opening 36. As the plunger 23 moves rear; wardly it carries the dog 29 from beneath the chute 33 so that the dog may tilt to permit the coin to drop on to the bottom of the casing. lVhen the coin leaves the dog the bent end of the latter which is heavier than its straight end, returns the dog to a normal position so that it releases the push rod; When said push rod is released the spring 27 restores it to a normal position, and the spring 18 returns the ejectorv slide 16' toits normal position, ready for the next operation. Should an iron disk or plate be inserted in the coin slot it will be attracted and held by the magnet 52 so that when the next coin is inserted in the slot 52 it will swing the movable section 44 of the chute outwardly to permit such iron disk to drop to the bottom of the casing without passing through the lower portion of the chute 33 and actuating the dog 29.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. The combination of a coin chute composed of opposing sections, one being stationary and the other being mounted to swing toward and from the stationary section, said sections each consisting of upper and lower grooved bars connected by cross rods, hinges connecting the upper bar of the swinging sect-ion to the upper bar of the stationary section, a magnet secured in the upper bar of the stationary section, a U-shaped bracket having one arm fixed to the lower bar of the stationary section, a coil spring interposed between the lower bar of the swinging section and the other arm of said U-shaped bracket, stops on the inner face of the lower bar of the stationary section to limit the inward swinging movement of the swinging section, and a cam plate secured at the upper and outer end of the upper bar of the swinging section.

2. The combination of a casing provided with a coin-receiving slot, means within the casing for controlling a merchandise delivering mechanism, an angular coin chute having a downwardly and forwardly inclined lower portion disposed adjacent to said means, and a downwardly and rearwardly inclined upper portion composed of stationary and swinging sections, said sections each consisting of upper and lower parallel grooved bars connected by cross rods and having their upper and forward ends terminating adjacent to the slot in said casing, hinges uniting the upper bars of the two chute sections, a magnet secured in the upper bar of the stationary section, a U- shaped bracket having one arm fixed to the lower bar of the stationary section, a coil spring interposed between the lower bar of the swinging section and the other arm of said U-shaped bracket, stops on the inner face of the lower bar of the stationary section to limit the inward swinging movement of said swinging section, and a triangular cam plate fixed to the upper forward end of the upper bar of the swinging section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MATH-IAS J. WALTHER.

Witnesses:

JOHN WALTHER, B. W. HULING. 

